15% Of Israel Englander's $240 Billion Millennium Portfolio Sits in Just 10 Stocks

Key Points

Warren Buffett once said, “Diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing.” I suspect that one of his fellow billionaires might disagree.

Israel “Izzy” Englander runs Millennium Management. The hedge fund’s portfolio includes a staggering 5,622 holdings. But that large number could be somewhat misleading. Roughly 15% of Englander’s $240 billion Millennium portfolio is invested in only 10 stocks.

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Israel “Izzy” Englander. Image source: Getty Images.

Englander’s top 10

Technically, Englander’s largest holding isn’t a stock. Instead, it’s an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that trades like a stock — the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: IVV). This ETF owns all 503 stocks included in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) (the total exceeds 500 due to multiple share classes for some companies).

It’s the same story for Millennium Management’s No. 3 holding — the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPYM). Like the iShares fund, it has a low annual expense ratio.

Several so-called “Magnificent Seven” stocks are in the billionaire’s top 10. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) remains Englander’s second-largest holding even after he sold roughly 31% of Millennium’s stake in the GPU giant in the first quarter of 2026. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are also among the hedge fund’s top positions.

Englander veered more old school with Millennium’s fourth-largest position, railroad operator Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC). However, Norfolk Southern is more of a tech stock than you might think, with the company investing heavily in using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve railroad safety.

Two other top 10 holdings are communication stocks. Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) is Millennium’s fifth-largest position, while Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) ranks as the ninth-largest.

The key takeaway

What’s the most important takeaway for individual investors from Englander’s top 10 holdings? It’s probably what we first discussed: the importance of diversification.

Because of the two S&P 500 ETFs in the top three spots in Millennium Management’s portfolio, the hedge fund is even more diversified than meets the eye at first glance. Englander’s other equity holdings represent three sectors (technology, communication services, and industrials).

Investors don’t have to buy thousands of assets, as Englander does, to have a well-diversified portfolio. They don’t have to own several Magnificent Seven stocks to achieve solid returns, either. However, including a few low-cost ETFs that own a basket of stocks isn’t only a smart move for billionaires.

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Keith Speights has positions in Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool recommends Electronic Arts. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.